Fighters Flock to Philly for Bellator’s Latest Open Tryout

PHILADELPHIA -- The scene inside Daddis Fight Camps on Saturday
afternoon was something straight out of a movie.

About 60 fighters descended on the gym with training partners,
significant others and various entourage members in tow for
Bellator
Fighting Championships’ latest open tryout. Bellator matchmaker
Sam Caplan started the proceedings by telling the hopefuls that
there would be no winner announced on this day. Nonetheless, the
goal for every fighter remained the same: Impress the Chicago-based
promotion’s brass enough to earn a contract and catapult their
career.

The fighters’ stories ran the gamut, men and women with varying
levels of experience faced with different situations. Cast in the
underdog role was light heavyweight Anton
Talamantes, a native of Fort Wayne, Ind., who made the
nine-hour drive to Philly solely for the tryout. The 4-1 Talamantes
could be seen off by himself in the corner of the gym, seemingly
contemplating the enormity of the situation in front of him.

“It’s just something I’ve been doing for a long time,” Talamantes
told Sherdog.com after tryouts. “I haven’t really felt like I’ve
gotten a shot to show what I can do. I looked at it as an
opportunity to see what’s out there and hopefully get in front of
some people that will see something there, that will give me the
chance to do big things in MMA.”

On the other end of the spectrum was Erik Herbert.
Like Talamantes, 25-year-old Herbert made a long trek, coming in
from Buffalo, N.Y., for the event. However, his current professions
as an aspiring fighter and full-time college student pale in
comparison to what he was doing before.

“I was a military police officer in the Marine Corps,” Herbert
said. “I got selected for special duty. I guarded Marine One, which
is the President’s helicopter. It’s the green helicopter with the
white top. It was awesome. I got to go all over the world and
support President [George W.] Bush.”

Then there was Daddis Fight Camp featherweight Jackson
Galka, who referred to his participation in the tryout as being
“on a lark.” Less than a week out from a bout with New Jersey’s
Cage Fury Fighting Championships, Galka took the opportunity
without really thinking twice.

“The risk is pretty low. Competitively, I think you have to be
game,” explained Galka. “You’re either a competitor or you’re not.
It’s at my gym. I’m here training anyway. Why not? That’s the
question I’d ask. Why wouldn’t I do this?”

For Galka, it’s also a story of jumpstarting a career which never
had a chance to fully blossom. Almost as soon as he turned pro,
Galka was put on the shelf for two years after a serious back
injury.

“I got back into the cage in June, had a very low level fight and
took a huge pay cut. This fight is still less than I would’ve been
making had I not gotten injured,” he said. “I’m at a junction in my
life where I can either go in one direction and pursue the
administrative stuff at Daddis Fight Camps as a full time career,
or I make my run professionally.”

The man who will eventually decide who gets a call back and who
doesn’t, Sam Caplan, hears all the stories. These are fighters
trying to establish themselves and anything that helps them stand
out certainly helps. But it’s also about results.

“For me, it’s not necessarily about looking for people that are
entertainers. It’s people that go in and fight to win as opposed to
fighting not to lose,” Caplan said. “You see that on some of these
smaller shows with guys going in there. They get nervous. It’s a
little more than they expected and they’re just fighting to
survive. We want people that are going to go in there not looking
to win a points battle in front of the judges.”

It’s with those expectations in mind that an event like Saturday’s
tryout could potentially be even more nerve-wracking than an actual
fight. Perform well enough in front of the right people and the
rest of your career could be set. It’s the reason most of the
fighters echoed those sentiments when asked about nerves.

“It’s actually a funny question,” Galka remarked. “I was just
talking to my teammate and I was saying I feel a little bit more
nervous for the tryouts because I’m surrounded by my peers. They’re
going to be able to pick up on all the mistakes I make. It’s sort
of like a pecking order thing. In a fight, I’m in front of family
and friends. They don’t really get the subtleties of everything.
They just want to see a good show.”

Herbert even likened the pressure he faced at the tryout to that
which he felt while serving the country.

“It was crazy because you see yourself on CNN or FOX News and it’ll
only be for a second,” Herbert mentioned, “but you’ll see yourself
there and if you just even touch your face or if you’re leaning
instead of being straight up, the whole world sees it. It’s the
reputation of Marine One. There’s definitely a lot of scrutiny
there. I honestly haven’t felt pressure like today probably since
back then.”

“I think it is more pressure because you have to show your best,”
said Kaline
Medeiros, one of two women who competed. “You’re trying to get
into the big show in Bellator. I think it’s more pressure than just
a fight.”

“Honestly, no,” Team Jorge Gurgel’s Jason
Butcher deadpanned. “I felt great today. It’s grappling and I’m
super comfortable with my jiu-jitsu. I felt like I was going to do
well.”

The goal for each fighter in that room Saturday was obvious. They
want to fight for Bellator. The scope of their dreams ranged from
the simple to the more complex.

“I’m trying to leave with a contract, honestly,” said Butcher,
quite possibly the most relaxed of all the fighters in the
room.

“Just being here, I’m honored just to compete with other guys,”
said Ring of Combat veteran Whitney
Jean-Francois. “I’m just trying to do my best to advance, but
if I don’t, it’ll be a good experience.”

“I just want to be on the undercard,” Herbert conceded. “I’ll sell
as many tickets as I can. I’ll fight my ass off. If I lose, thank
you for the opportunity. If I win? Give me another one. If I put
together some wins, I would love to be in that tournament.

“The tournament is life-changing. I fought guys that have fought on
Bellator before and beat them, and with that being said, I would
just want an undercard opportunity and maybe it goes from there. If
not, no regrets.”